All of his romances
are stories of adventure which are enjoyed by boys, but not much read by
others. Nevertheless, his best works fill a large place in southern
literature and history. They tell in an interesting way the life of the
border states, of southern crossroads towns, of colonial wars, and of
Indian customs. What Cooper did for the North, Simms accomplished for the
South. He lacked Cooper's skill and variety of invention, and he created no
character to compare with Cooper's Leatherstocking; but he excelled Cooper
in the more realistic portrayal of Indian character.
HENRY TIMROD, 1829-1867
[Illustration: HENRY TIMROD]
Henry Timrod was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1829. He attended
the University of Georgia; but was prevented by delicate health and poverty
from taking his degree. He was early thrown upon his own resources to earn
a livelihood, and having tried law and found it distasteful, he depended
upon teaching and writing. His verses were well received, but the times
preceding the Civil War were not propitious for a poor poet. As he was not
strong enough to bear arms at the outbreak of hostilities, he went to the
field as a war correspondent for a newspaper in Charleston and he became
later an associate editor in Columbia.
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